Background Briefing

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V. Refugees at Risk

Under an agreement signed on January 25, 2005 between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam, Montagnards who do not qualify as refugees and refuse to repatriate, and those deemed to be refugees but refuse to resettle abroad, are to be returned to Vietnam. The 700 Montagnards under UNHCR protection in Phnom Penh at the time the agreement was signed were told to make their decisions by March 24.

There is nothing in the agreement to ensure that repatriation chosen in such circumstances is truly voluntary. The agreement provides no guarantees of UNHCR access to the Vietnam's Central Highlands to monitor the safety of those who are repatriated. It states only that the Vietnamese Government and UNHCR will “consult and cooperate” on visits to the returnees “at an appropriate time.” 19 Any return program implemented under such coercive conditions is counter to UNHCR's own guidelines on voluntary repatriation.20 Forced return of Montagnards to Vietnam under current conditions risks violation of Cambodia's non-refoulement obligations under international refugee and human rights law.21

More than 200 of the approximately 650 Montagnards currently under U.N. protection in Phnom Penh, including some who have been recognized as refugees by UNHCR, have refused the option of third-country resettlement. Some are fearful that they will never see their families in Vietnam again if they resettle abroad. Others want to wait in Cambodia until the problems in the Central Highlands are resolved. Most remain deeply afraid of what awaits them if they return home now.

The agreement commits Cambodia to continue to provide temporary protection to Montagnard refugees and asylum seekers. However Human Rights Watch continues to receive reports of Cambodian authorities forcibly returning Montagnard asylum seekers back to Vietnam. Less than a week after the January agreement was signed, Cambodian authorities arrested and deported six Montagnard asylum seekers in Ratanakiri province.

The agreement also commits Vietnam not to punish returnees for their departure from Vietnam, which the agreement describes as “illegal.” However, according to first-hand accounts collected by Human Rights Watch, even Montagnards who have voluntarily returned to Vietnam since 2001 have been harassed by Vietnamese authorities. Some are placed under police surveillance and house arrest upon return, or are regularly summoned to the police station for questioning about their activities.22

 

More worrying still, the new agreement makes no promises that the Vietnamese government will not punish or prosecute returnees for practicing their religion or expressing their political opinions. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous cases of abuse and torture against activists, religious leaders, and individuals who have been deported or have voluntarily returned from Cambodia.23

The agreement is premised on assurances from Vietnam that any individuals returned will not be persecuted.  The information cited above, which because of the lack of access to the area tells only part of story, makes it clear that these assurances cannot be taken at face value.  Without a sufficient international monitoring presence in the Central Highlands, such as by UNHCR, there is no reason to believe the assurances have any meaning.
 

VI. Recommendations

To the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:

  1. Allow Montagnards to organize independent religious organizations to freely conduct religious activities. Churches and denominations that do not choose to join one of the government-authorized religious organizations whose governing boards are subject to government approval should be allowed to independently register with the government. 
  1. Release or grant amnesty to all Montagnards imprisoned or detained because of their non-violent religious or political beliefs.
  1. Investigate reports of beatings, torture and arbitrary detention of Montagnards. Those responsible for these violations should be brought to justice.
  1. Cease the religious repression of Montagnards, including bans on religious gatherings and other meetings, pressure to renounce one’s faith, mandatory participation in non-Christian rituals, destruction and closure of churches by local authorities and security officials, and intrusive police surveillance of religious leaders. 
  1. Ensure that all domestic legislation addressing religious affairs is brought into conformity with international law, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam is a party. Amend provisions in domestic law that can be used to criminalize certain religious activities on the basis of imprecisely defined “national security” crimes.
  1. Amend the 2004 Ordinance on Beliefs and Religion and Instruction No. 01/2005 to include specific disciplinary measures for officials who continue to force people to renounce their religion. 
  1. Permit outside experts, including those from the United Nations and independent international human rights organizations, to have unescorted access to Montagnards in Vietnam, including members of denominations not officially recognized by the government. 
  1. Invite the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Vietnam to investigate incidents of religious persecution, torture, arbitrary detention and other rights abuses committed against Montagnards, including members of churches that are not officially sanctioned by the government.

To the Royal Government of Cambodia:

  1. Provide asylum to Montagnard refugees for as long as the conditions for their safe and dignified return to the Central Highlands of Vietnam do not exist.
  1. Issue such refugees with identity documents to indicate their legal status in Cambodia.
  1. Refrain from any forced returns of Montagnards to Vietnam under present conditions, in accordance with the absolute obligation of non-refoulement.

 

To the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:

  1. Re-evaluate the tripartite agreement of January 26, 2005 and insist in upcoming tripartite meetings between UNHCR and Cambodian and Vietnamese officials that strengthened provisions be included to ensure that (a) refugee decisions on durable solutions are fully informed and voluntary and (b) UNHCR has full and unfettered access to returnees inside Vietnam.
  1. Provide improved counseling services in Phnom Penh to help Montagnard refugees and asylum seekers freely decide whether to repatriate or resettle abroad, while simultaneously decrying any violation or threatened violation by the Cambodian government of the absolute obligation of non-refoulement.
  1. Do not provide services facilitating return (including voluntary repatriation) of Montagnards from Cambodia until adequate international monitoring is in place in the Central Highlands.
  1. Ensure that all of the Montagnard shelters in Phnom Penh, including those that house rejected asylum seekers are managed under UN protection. Cooperate with the Cambodia Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that rejected asylum seekers have access to protection against refoulement in accordance with Cambodia’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and together decry any violation of these absolute human rights obligations.

To the international community, including intergovernmental organizations: 

  1. Advocate for continuation of Vietnam’s designation by the United States as a “Country of Particular Concern” for its violations of the right to religious freedom until substantial, concrete progress is made, specifically by releasing all Montagnards imprisoned for peaceful expression of their religious beliefs; allowing minority religious organizations to register with the government and operate independently, should they choose to do so, with leaders they select themselves; and ceasing the practice of forced renunciation of religious belief.
  1. Press for revision of the January 2005 tripartite agreement between UNHCR, Vietnam and Cambodia in order that strengthened provisions be included to ensure that (a) refugee decisions on durable solutions are fully informed and voluntary and (b) UNHCR has full and unfettered access to returnees inside Vietnam.
  1. Press the Vietnamese government to streamline the procedures for family reunification of Montagnards in Vietnam for those who have received authorization from resettlement countries to join family members who have resettled abroad.




[19] In 2002, despite Vietnam's promises that UNHCR would be able to monitor conditions in the Central Highlands, Vietnamese authorities denied permission for the UNHCR field team to visit potential returnee villages during one of UNHCR's first assessment missions. See Human Rights Watch, Repression of Montagnards: Conflicts over Land and Religion in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, 2002, pp. 134-138.

[20] See UNHCR Handbook on Voluntary Repatriation, 1996.

[21] That is, Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture and Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

[22] For additional testimonies about mistreatment of returnees, see “Vietnam: Torture, Arrests of Montagnard Christians,” Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, January 2005.

[23] See “Vietnam: Torture, Arrests of Montagnard Christians,” Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, January 2005.


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